Washington County ARES/RACES

After rain chased us out of Seaside this last weekend, now we have to watch for extreme high temperatures.

Three new references are posted on our Weather Links page. See references on 1. Heat Related Illness, 2. Heat Index and 3. Extreme Heat Preparedness Checklist.

1. Heat related illnesses: What to look for and What to do for:

• Heat Stroke
• Heat exhaustion
• Heat cramps
• Sunburn
• Heat rash

2.  Heat Index: “The heat index is an accurate measure of how hot it really feels when the affects of humidity are added to the high temperatures.”

3. Checklist check the tip on urine color.  As for emergency community alerts – note: a “WATCH” means “Be Prepared!” A “WARNING” means “Take Action!”

Stay alert out there.

Iron OR 24 – May Meeting Brief.pdf

Set aside a Saturday in November for our winter SET (State Emergency Training). Bill polled us on our preference of date. We will await to hear back.

Simulated Emergency Test
SET – 2024 – 18 May – Final

Instructions for WinLink Forms to ODEM

Saturday 1000-1230 hrs.  Be at your served agency, at home or at another outdoor location. The SET documents are downloadable above.

Individual Tasks:

See page three of the top document above. All communications must indicate “EXERCISE.”

• Voice check in at 10:00. Tell us where you are going to play from.
• Set your Winlink Express (WLE) GPS coordinates. Check that your computer time is correct. See prior posts. Grid Square
• WLE Activation (Mapping-GIS section)
• WLE Field Situation Report (Mapping-GIS section)
• WLE Deactivate (Mapping-GIS section)

Tip: “Save” your report before you “Submit.”

Download printable reports for reference. Notice you can “Set” your agency name at the top of the form. See upper left “Set” button.

Winlink Check-in                 Field Situation Report

Winlink Check-out

Let’s face this head on.

When we schedule ham radio drills, we have yet to come up with the “perfect” schedule. Usually all of our ham radio drills occur for a few hours on a Saturday morning at 0900. If we participate in an exercise sponsored by a local government, it often occurs on a weekday (Tu-We-Th).

During these pleasant weather months starting in April, there is a great competition for our time every weekend.

As “luck” would have it, the drill we activated for May 11th was a HOT one.

A SOLUTION

If you missed the drill today (May 11th), there is a way you can still train. Basically, on your own scheduled time, you pack up your gear and travel all the way to . . . your own backyard! Or a local park.

What?  What good does that do?

Continue reading →

Detailed Participant Instructions

FIELD_EXERCISE_2024MAY_instructions_V2

Your Grid Square

WHEN: Saturday 11 May 2024. 9 AM to 1 PM
WHERE: Participants’ choice, with VHF coverage of Washington County

Continue reading →

The presentation for 4-16-24 was Where Am I by Larry Ossowski, AE7TM. It is on Basic Coordination Awareness. Used by permission.

The WCARES 96 Hour Bag has been placed in the Training Folder and you may access it on the right under Member Resources/Training/WCARES 96 HR. BAG